Prime mover control system



Patented Nov. 28, 1939 PRIME. MOVER CONTROL SYSTEM Arthur Rosch, Brieselang, near Naucn, Germany,

assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application September 8, 1938, Serial No. 229,021 In Germany October 4, 1937 Claims. (Cl. 60-6) This invention relates to control means for the detent 24, the collar will be forced to the drive systems in which a main prime mover is right moving the valve 20 from the open to the arranged for driving a machine during normal closed position. The pivoted detent 24 is rigidly full load conditions and a separate auxiliary connected to two actuating arms'Zl and 28 which 3 prime mover unit arranged to be connected are biased in counterclockwise direction against through common gearing for driving the machine the stop 2!? by the light spring 38. The detent is under partial load conditions. moved to the releasing position by means re- In such power plant installations as are prosponsive to a predetermined speed of either of vided in ships or the like, an auxiliary prime the prime mover units. The shaft it of the 15 mover unit is often arranged for driving the proelastic fluid turbineis provided with a governor peller or other driven machine at low speed or M, of a well-known type, which upon a predefor light loads. For high speed operation or t'ermined speed of the turbine will be thrown greater loads, the drive is transferred to a main outwardly to engage with the finger 32 of the prime mover unit and the auxiliary unit simullatch member 33. Upon the releasing movement taneously disconnected and shut down. of the latch 33, the bell crank 3 1 will be freed It is an object of this invention to provide a for pivotal rotation in counterclockwise direction new and improved arrangement for controlling under the force of the spring 35 acting through the operation of the prime mover units with rethe pivoted lever 36 and the connecting link 31.

spec-t to each other so that the transfer of load Simultaneously, the spring 35 acting through the from one unit to the other may be accomplished link 38 will rotate the lever arm 23 in a clockin a smooth and eflicient manner. wise direction, against the bias of spring 30, to For a consideration of What I believe to be move the detent 24 to the releasing position. novel and my invention, attention is directed to The shaft of the electric motor is provided with the following description and the claims appenda governor 39 adapted to engage with the finger ed thereto taken in connection with the accom- 48 of the latch 4| upon the occurrence of a pre- 25 panying drawing. determined speed. Upon the release of the latch The single figure of the drawing illustrates in the bell crank 42 will be freed for rotation in a diagrammatic form a power plant arrangecounterclockwise direction under the force of the ment embodying my invention. spring 43 acting through the rod 44. The other A main prime mover unit is shown in this in end of the rod 44 is connected to rotate the lever 30 stance as comprising an elastic fluid turbine l0 arm 2'5 in clockwise direction and in turn move while the auxiliary prime mover unit is reprethe detent' 24" to the releasing position. sented by an electric motor H. The twoprime The electric motor H is arranged to be enermover units are arranged to be connected through gized from a suitable source of supply 45 through the common gearing l2 to the shaft l3 extendleads 46 having a circuit breaker 41 connected 35 ing to the driven machine (not shown). The therein. The circuit breaker may be of any wellshaft it of the turbine is shown as being fast known type Such as represented by t e latch coupled with the common gearing [2 through closed device shown having a tripping solenoid the pinion l5. The shaft it of the electric mo- 48. Means are provided for automatically detor, on the other hand, is provided with an overenergizing the electric motor I 1 upon a predeter- 40 running clutch ll arranged between the motor mined pressure of operating fluid admitted to the and the pinion It in engagement with the comelastic fluid turbine l through the valve 20. mon gearing l2. As indicated, a pressure responsive device 49 The supply of operating fluid through conduit mounted upon a stationary part 50 is in comit to the elastic fluid turbine I!) may be com munication through the connection 5! with the trolled by any suitable valve means 20. As inlet chamber of the elastic fluid turbine. Upon shown, the stem of the valve is threaded in a the occurrence of a predetermined condition, the collar 25 slidably arranged within a housing 22. pressure responsive device is arranged to close an The valve may be operated by any suitable moelectric circuit across the contacts 52 and thereby tor means, or by a handwheel 23. The collar is energize the tripping solenoid 48 and disconnect 50 normally retained in the position shown by a the motor II. pivoted detent 2t bearing against a shoulder The operation of the control system described 25 of the collar. A spring 26 is arranged beis as follows: During standstill condition of the tween the end Wall of the housing 22 and the power plant, the valve 20 controlling the supply 55 collar 2| so that upon a releasing movement of of operating fluid to the elastic fluid turbine I0 55 device 419 will close the circuit across the contacts" 52, thereby energizing the tripping solenoid oi? the circuit breaker 41 and deenergizing the electric motor H. As the load is taken over by the turbine, and the speed of the motor drops below the speed of the pinion I 8, the overrunning clutch II will be so actuated as to disconnect the motor I i from the common gearing. Should the elastic fluid turbine due to the occurrence of some abnormal condition tend to race, the governor 3! thereof will trip the latch 33 to cause the closure of the elastic fluid admission valve 20. Should the overrunning clutch I? fail .to drop out'and disconnect the motor II from the gearing, l2 when the load is transferred to the turbine, the motor will be driven at an increased rate of speed by the turbine It. Thereupon the governor 39 of the motor will trip the latch 4| to effect the 010- sure of the elastic fluid admission valve 20. If it is desired to transfer the load from the turbine back to the motor for low speed operation, the valve 253 may be closed which will allow the closure of the motor control switch 47. As the speed of the gearing l2 and i8 drops to below that of the motor H, the clutch i1 will engage and the transfer be completed.

Having described the principle of operation of my invention together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by- Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In. combination, a main driving unit, an

' auxiliary driving unit, common gearing for transmitting the power output of said units to a driven machine, an overrunning clutch between said auxiliary unit and said gearing for disconnecting said auxiliary unit upon said gearing being driven at a predetermined speed by said main driving unit above the speed of said auxiliary unit, means for controlling the energization of said main driving unit, and means responsive to a predetermined abnormal speed of'both of said units for deenergizing said main driving unit.

2. In combination, a turbine, an electric motor, common gearing for transmitting the output of said turbine and said motor to a driven machine, means between said motor and said gearing for disconnecting said motor from said gearing upon said gearing being driven at a predetermined tor, and means responsive to a predetermined speed by said turbine above the speed of said mopressure of the operating fluid admitted to said turbine for deenergizing said electric motor.

, 3. In combination, an elastic fluid turbine, an electric motor, common gearing for transmitting the output of said turbine and said motor to a driven machine, means between said motor and said gearing for disconnecting said motor from said gearing upon said gearing being driven at a predetermined speed above the normal speed of said motor, valve means for controlling the admission of elastic fluid to said turbine, and

means responsive to a predetermined speed of said electric motor for closing said valve means.

.4.'In. a power plant having a main driving unit, and an auxiliary driving unit, meansfor controlling the power output of said units through common gearing to a driven machine comprising an overrunning clutch between said auxiliary unit and saidgearing for disconnecting said auxiliary unit upon said gearing being driven at a predetermined speed by said main driving unit above the speed of said auxiliary driving unit, means responsive to a predetermined energization of said main driving unit for deenergizing said auxiliary driving unit, and means responsive to a predetermined excess speed condition of said auxiliary driving unit for deenergizing said main driving unit.

5. In a power plant having a main driving unit operatively connected to a driven shaft, and an auxiliary driving unit adapted to be connected to said driven shaft through clutch means, the combination comprising control means for said main driving unit, means responsive to the energization of said main unit for deenergizing said auxiliary unit, and means operative upon the occurrence of a predetermined abnormal condition of said auxiliary unit for efi'ecting the deenergization of said main unit.

- ARTHUR ROSCH. 

